Unbelievable Borax Uses In The Garden

Borax is used for various house chores but did you know this naturally occurring mineral can be used in the garden too? Check out!

What is Borax?

Borax (Na2B4O7·10H2O) is a natural mineral. An important boron compound. It is an essential ingredient in many laundry and cleaning products you buy from grocery stores. Besides this, it has many uses on its own.

Is Borax Safe?

Where Can You Find Borax?

You can find borax in the cleaning supplies section of most grocery stores.

Borax Uses

1. Kill Weeds

Borax can be used to kill weeds. Add 10 ounces of powdered borax to 2.5 gallons of water, mix thoroughly, and use a sprayer to coat the leaves of unwanted weeds in your yard. Keep overspray off of any plants you want to keep, avoid saturating the soil with the solution, and avoid contact with bare skin. Find out a few more natural herbicide recipes on Treehugger!

2. Remove Rust from Tools

Mix borax and lemon juice together to make a paste. Apply this paste to your rusty tools and allow it to set for at least 30 minutes, and then scour with a scrub brush. Repeat these steps if necessary, and always rinse clean with water when finished.

3. Ant Killer

If you want to get rid of ants in your garden, try this borax bait recipe. For this, you’ll need borax, honey or maple syrup in equal amounts. Mix well and place this in the affected spot. To learn more about this recipe, click here.

4. Disinfect and Clean your Garden Tools and Surface

Mix half a cup of borax in a gallon of warm water. Make use of this solution to soak and scrub pots and tools. Once clean, rinse thoroughly and leave the items in the open air and sunshine to dry. You can also clean gloves and other gardening objects.

5. As a Fertilizer

Boron (B) is the second most widespread micronutrient deficiency problem worldwide after zinc. It improves plant’s health and growth. Its deficiency commonly results in empty pollen grains, poor pollen vitality and a reduced number of flowers per plant. The lack of boron also causes stunted root growth.

The common symptoms are dying growing tips, bushy stunted growth, low productivity but these symptoms are very common. So the way to determine Boron deficiency is to get your soil tested. Soil that is acidic, sandy and low in organic matter often has a deficiency of Boron. Also, cabbage family crops and a few other plants like celery, strawberry, apple, etc. require Boron in a higher amount than other plants and they get help from the application of borax.

Application

If the soil test for Boron is less than 1 ppm, apply household or agricultural grade borax (11 percent B) at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 100 square feet where Boron requiring plants will be grown. Apply the borax evenly and mix thoroughly with the soil. It may be easier to dissolve 1 tablespoon of borax in 1 gallon of water and apply the solution evenly with a sprinkling can. Apply 1 fluid ounce of solution per plant.

6. Kill Green Fly on Roses

Dissolve 25 gm borax in a little hot water and make up to 600 ml by adding cold water. It will kill greenfly on roses and other plants.When applied to the stems of fruit and other trees, it destroys all insects in and about the bark. Read here in detail!

Yes Tess I noticed that and was extremely confused by it. In fact I re-read it 2 or 3 times to try and figure out what I was missing. I don’t know the answer, I’ve always been told and read where it could be used as a weed killer. In the picture it looked like grass to me, not weeds. I’m fairly certain of it’s use as a weed/grass killer. But this is the first I’ve seen it written as a fertilizer. I too would like to know the explanation for what seems like a discrepancy.

I saw in the garden store a repackaged 1 kilo of borax and underneath the label it says “feritlizer.” Can I use this kind as a cleaning agent? Or is the fertilizer kind different from the cleaning kind? Thank you!